Articles
Victim blaming and misdirection in the climate debate – First published in full here, and then republished in a shorter version in the Morning Star on the 12th March 2020. This article was written in response to the growing and worrying trend of victim blaming the global poor in order to divert attention away from the addiction of the 1% to a lifestyle built on dirty energy, and the cynicism of the Nuclear lobby in using climate change as an opportunity to greenwash themselves.
Only an authoritarian state proscribes dissent – First published in the Morning Star on 28th January 2020 under the title ‘The double standards of counter terror’. It discusses the validity of including Extinction Rebellion into the Counter terrorism unit’s advice on extremist ideologies to members of the Prevent programme.
Why so surprised? The British electoral process has always been fixed – This was published in the Morning Star on Wednesday 18th December 2019. It is a short article in response to many comments I heard in the immediate aftermath of the 2019 general election. The intention was to take some energy out of the mass hysteria being nurtured by some. It also appears to have been trolled more aggressively on Twitter than the rest of my work for the Morning Star combined.
If not now, then when should we start panicking? – This was first published in November 2019 by the Morning Star and then republished the following week in Counterpunch. The article looks at the reports coming from one of the key research facilities being cited by Extinction Rebellion UK, the National Centre for Climate Restoration in Australia. I wrote this in the lead up to the 2019 general election in order to help keep at least some of the spotlight on the climate emergency facing life on earth.
The nuclear debate as a cover for sustaining exploitation – This was first published in September 2018 by the Morning Star, and then picked up by Counterpunch shortly afterwards. One of my biggest issues with many of the debates on the progressive left, is the consistency with which so many fall into the trap of unwittingly perpetuating fundamental inequalities, while allegedly championing equality. The climate debate and the role of Nuclear within that is, for me at least, a perfect example of that.
It only takes one dissenting voice to cut through a torrent of hatred – This was first published in August 2018 by Morning Star. This was written in response to someone close to me, relatively new to radical politics, going through the inevitable feeling of powerlessness and pointlessness after witnessing their first defeat. It outlines the key psychology studies that demonstrate how even a single act of dissent can resonate outwards across society over time like ripples in a pond.
The Colonised Mind; The Empire On Which the Sun Never Sets – This was first published in June 2018 by Morning Star. In it I make the case for seeing the current state of affairs as a quasi-imperialist cultural hegemony, citing the attacks on UNESCO, the work of the US Army’s 4th Psychological Operations Group, The Trilateral Commission and the reach of the MPAA.
The Electoral System is Designed to Serve the Powers that be – This was originally published in May 2018 by Morning Star. It is in response to the growing belief that socialism can flourish within the established political processes in the UK. It argues that the systems that are presented as democratic are in fact designed to maintain inequality and hierarchy.
No Chance of Equality While Rape is Entertainment – This was originally published in May 2018 by Morning Star. It is abridged from a longer essay published in Znet, and was prompted by the narrow focus of the mainstream media in covering the #metoo campaign. These pieces seek to demonstrate a wider matrix of domination and a concerted media campaign to distract from it.
Consumed by Mistrust and Resentment, we stand alone – This article was originally published in February 2018 by Morning Star. It is abridged from an extended essay that argues the case that free market democracies are anti-social, anti-democratic, and environmentally catastrophic.
Is true democracy being undermined by its most vocal minority ?– This article was originally published in December 2004 by Peace News. The intention was to report from the European Social Forum in 2004. But after what I saw there, it became a defining event for my politics. What the article is now, is a critique of a century old schism.
Let’s not saint anyone just yet – This article was originally published in December 2004 by Indymedia. It came about because a group of celebrities decided that they could demonstrate how lovely and wonderful they were, and how nasty and selfish the rest of us are.
Millions take to the streets – One of the first pieces of work I ever had published was a fairly lengthy article prompted by the events of 11th September 2001 in the USA and the massive anti-war protest in 2003. Red Pepper published it.